Councillor call for integrity commissioner

A motion will be introduced next month that could see a third-party official examine councillors’ conduct during city council meetings.

During a meeting of council Tuesday, Coun. Dorothy Hector, who represents Lakeside District, said she intends to bring forth a motion in January that will ask the administrative policies committee to consider appointing an integrity commissioner to review council procedure and its code of conduct.

Similar positions have been created in municipalities such as the City of Toronto, which was the first jurisdiction in Canada to create an Office of the Integrity Commissioner.

“It’s become very clear over the past year and a half or two years that there’s a difference of opinion in terms of behaviour and roles and responsibilities of councillors,” Hector told the Whig-Standard. “The only avenue under the Municipal Act that we have of having some form of commonality … that can be at arm’s length is an integrity commissioner.”

Hector said it is not yet clear if other councillors will support the motion.

“I’m just exploring if there is a will of council for council to learn whether or not there is a need for this,” she said.

When asked about her motivation in introducing the motion, Hector declined to give details.

“It’s not any single incident, it is a continuance of behaviour and incidents,” she said. “(There is) the apparent thought that it’s inconsequential or that ‘you can’t touch me’ kind of an attitude and that’s not the kind of way people should behave towards each other. It wouldn’t be appropriate in any other workplace, so why would it be in ours?”

In recent months, there has been a series of outbursts between Mayor Mark Gerretsen and other councillors, including Rick Downes and Rob Hutchison.

“We have a code of conduct and there is a difference of opinion on how that is defined,” Hector said.

She argued that an integrity commissioner could provide unbiased insight into concerns over misconduct.

Currently, councillors have nowhere to turn when faced with questionable issues, she said.

“I think that if you don’t look at what opportunities there are out there to improve, then that’s also failing of the leadership,” she said. “I think we can all be better than we are. There’s not one of us that can’t strive to be better and why not have something arm’s length where we can seek out advice.”

Hector said she’s not clear if appointing an integrity commissioner would mean creating a full-time position within the corporation.

“That’s what we have to investigate,” she said. “I would much prefer that we don’t spend any money, but at the same time, if it takes some money to set a standard of behaviour, then so be it.

“As a minimum, it would be nice if we could see if we could look at our (procedural) bylaw and our code of conduct to enable us to police ourselves.”

If passed, Hector said the administrative policies committee could look at the benefits and drawbacks to appointing a commissioner as well as the costs of doing so.

“My goal is not to try and point fingers of any kind,” she said. “I have no intention of singling anyone out because I think every one of us has something to learn. I’m trying to make us better and make those of us who lead the City of Kingston understand the common platform in which we work.”